Saturday AM General Conference:Two-Hour Blocks 4Evar!

And here you thought we wouldn’t do anything special for April Fool’s Day…

Welcome to By Common Consent’s live coverage of the 181th Annual General Conference, live from Salt Lake City! BCC will provide near-continuous live commentary, photography, and other goodies throughout the weekend’s activities. Don’t forget to check out our minute-by-minute coverage on Twitter in addition to coverage on the blog. We also encourage you to (if you’re not already doing so) watch Conference live, streaming from LDS.org.

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Good morning BCCers! This is Neylan reporting on the Saturday Morning Session of General Conference.

Elder Perry up. Testifying that the voice we have just heard, President Monson, is the voice of the living prophet on the earth today.

Jesus Christ: dual citizenship in heaven and on earth. Emphasizing the importance of the New Testament — “a sacred volume which is the centerpiece of scriptural history, as the Savior is the centerpiece of our lives.”

It’s a Sabbath Day talk! “I can think of no better way for us to begin or continue to be an example of the believers than in our observance of the Sabbath Day.”

“The pattern of the Sabbath day observance must always include worship.”

“It is remarkable that even through the dark period of the Apostasy this pattern of the Sabbath Day worship and the Sacrament continued to be practiced in many forms.”

[No longer using quotation marks for direct quotes.]

Partaking of the Sacrament is the center of our Sabbath Day observance.

Looking for extra tickets outside the Conference Center

Three things the Lord requires of us as we consider the Sabbath and the Sacrament: first, to keep ourselves unspotted from the world. Second, to go to the house of prayer and offer up our sacraments. And third, to rest from our labors.

I believe He also desires us to dress appropriately. Our youth may think the old saying “Sunday best” is outdated. Still we know that when Sunday dress deteriorates to everyday attire, attitudes and actions follow.

Discussing the action of the verb “behold” as in “behold your little ones”

There is not a more perfect place to “behold our little ones” than in our families. We see and appreciate in a more personal way the divine attributes of His spirit children.

[Tearing up while mentioning her own children and their example to her.]

Now: Elder Walter F Gonzalez of the Presidency of the Seventy

Mentioning his visits to Argentina, Ghana and Nigeria and the people he met there. “Most were not members of the Church. We were happy to see their desire to follow Christ expressed in many of their conversations, in their houses, on their cars, on their walls and on their billboards. We had never see so many Christian churches next to one another. As Latter-day Saint, ours is the duty in invite millions such as these to come and see what our Church can add to the good things they already have.”

[Yay for the global perspective of a non-American GA! Love the positive emphasis on “what we can add”]

I have pondered about the purpose of pain… Much of our suffering is not necessarily our fault.

Followers of Christ are loving people. Second, followers of Christ make and keep covenants. Citing Ruth the Moabite and Joseph of Egypt, and comparing them to a Brother Olvera from Ecuador who risked losing family when he decided to serve a mission. [Happy ending to that one: eventually, his parents wanted him to stay on his mission longer cause they were receiving “so many blessings”]

Making covenants is an expression of love. It is a way of saying to Him, yes I will follow thee.

Elder Kent F Richards of the Quorum of the Seventy kicks off the second hour.

I have pondered about the purpose of pain…. Much of our suffering is not necessarily our fault…. There is another kind of pain for which we are responsible.

As Nephi saw in vision, much of Christ’s mortal ministry was devoted to blessing and healing the sick with all kinds of maladies — physical, emotional, and spiritual.

Personal story about when he was a patient and not the doctor. He came to understand that during his mortal life Christ chose to experience pains and afflictions in order to understand us. Perhaps we also need to experience the depths of mortality in order to understand Him and our eternal purposes.

Children’s response to pain – more “naturally accepting.” Story of a child seeing familial angels when coming out of an operation. “Daddy, all of the children here in the intensive care unit have angels helping them.” [Another child + disease story. Definitely moving this time.]

Bears testimony that Jesus is our Redeemer, our Friend our Advocate, the great physician, the great healer.

Most significant attribute of the pioneer women: their unwavering faith in the restored gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. The stories of these women are a “priceless legacy to the Church.”

I believe the women of the Church today are every bit as strong and faithful.

[Holding off commentary till we see where this story goes….]

[Props for the American Grace callout.]

Our women are not incredible because they have managed to avoid the difficulties of life – quite the opposite. They are incredible because of the way they face the trials of life.

Appreciation for sisters – both married and single — and their role in the creation of the new Handbooks.

[Tangent into the execution of the Handbook’s new injunction to delegate Bishop’s responsibilities.] In the Church the role of women in the home is highly respected. When the mother receives a Church calling that requires significant time, the father will often be given a less demanding calling in order to maintain balance in the lives of the family.

Example of a woman – a stake Relief Society president – proposing a plan for preparing young men who hadn’t gone on missions to prepare for the temple, rather than be ostracized.

For some, marriage and family are becoming a menu choice rather than the central organizing principle of our society.

Don’t judge women for wanting to stay home full time. ALSO don’t judge women who work.

I would hope that Latter-day Saint would be at the forefront in creating an environment in the workplace that is more receptive and accommodating to both women and men in their responsibilities as parents.

[Moving right along… ]

Choir: Primary Song… points to the first person who can name it! Both Kristine and I have blanked….

I Know That My Savior Loves Me

Sister missionaries outside after the session

[President Eyring in the house! YES…addressing “poor and the needy” on a global level, not just within our local communities]

“Living the Law of Consecration”… then the “United Order”… in our time, it’s called the “Church Welfare Program.” The names and details of operation are changed to fit the needs and conditions of people. But always the Lord’s way to help those in temporal need requires people who out of love have consecrated themselves and what they have to God and to His work.

Discussing the effects of service on children. “The Lord’s way of caring for the needy provides another opportunity for parents to bless their children.”

Wherever you live, you have seen that miracle of sympathy turned to unselfish action. [Choking up, reflecting on service given in the wake of the Teton Dam burst on June 5, 1976.]

We celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Church’s welfare program this year. The principles at the foundation of the Church Welfare Program are not only for one time or one place. They are for all times and all places.

Yes, that says Hindi.

Elder Eyring’s personal principles of service: First, everyone is happier and feels more self-respect when they can provide for themselves and their family and then reach out to take care of others. I have been grateful for those who helped me become self-reliant. And then I have been most grateful for those who showed me how to use some of my surplus to help others.

Second, the power and blessing of unity.

Third, draw your family into the work with you so that they can learn to care for each other as they care for others.

Fourth, it is the bishop’s duty to find and provide help to those who still need assistance after all they and their families can do. The Holy Ghost makes it possible to find those in need.

[Elder Eyring improvises: RS presidents may get the revelation before the bishop!]

News Flash: there will be a worldwide members “Day of Service”

Three suggestions for planning a project for this day: First, prepare spiritually. Second, chose recipients whose needs will touch the hearts of those who will give the service. Third, draw on the power of the bonds of families, quorums, and organizations.

Sure, there’s nothing inherently wrong with dressing casually, and we don’t want to get hung up or judgmental about dress. But our mode of dress is communication. It communicates to others what we are trying to say about ourselves at any given time. And it sends a reinforcing message to ourselves as well. When we treat our communication casually, our attitude does tend to follow.

Anyone who hears a story about a boy holding still during 33 different radiation treatments and thinks it is an anti-medicine message because the boy didn’t like the way the sedatives made him feel is an idiot.

Sister Stevens’ talk was actually quite easy to listen to. Definitely a thumbs-up for the mostly normal voice. Not to mention the relatively low-key but effective requisite stories about children. I approve of the subtle shift to potentially more profound talks from the sisters.

The guy conducting the music right now visited our ward a few months ago (son-in-law or something). you would have thought Donny Osmond had made an appearance in 1985 Utah. Priesthood was practically turned over to the guy.

Maybe I’m just feeling hyper-critical today but so far this session there have been two instances of subject-verb disagreement. It’s rather distracting… then again maybe it’s best I’m distracted during this talk.

104, 114 — it’s to emphasize that both quorums are General Authorities, and when they say it about Area Seventies during a stake conference or something, they don’t distinguish because the visiting authority has the same authority as a Big Boy Seventy from Salt Lake.

To Scott, Or Neylan, or anyone else with some pull around here — no Photos this conference? If you are going to produce one, I have a good photo to submit of kids gathered around the candy bowl in anticipation of the word of the session.

141 Brad, pulling out the “irony” card effectively silences anyone who disagrees with what you guys are doing here. There’s a difference between “criticizing” BCC commenters and making snarky, nitpicky comments about the conference speakers–all of whom are doing their best, however imperfectly.

I think the way church members as an over-generalised whole respond to single moms and other single sisters should be worth more than passing words of support. Perhaps in view of some of the YW lessons I’ve amended in teaching them this year, more of a call to repentance is required here.

And what is meant by his suggestion that LDS members whole be at the forefront of respecting women’s and men’s roles as parents in workplace? More advocacy of better maternity and paternity leave? More leeway to leave work early to catch ballgames?

@150, I look forward to the day when in Conference we hear that it is good for women who want to work outside of the home to do so and then praise them for their and their husband’s ability to provide and nurture their children.

What struck me: After Elder Cook said “A wife is equal to her husband” it at least took him about 2 minutes to follow it up with “her special sphere is the home and nurturing etc etc”. Normally it follows immediately, often in the same breath. Progress!

Jenne, honestly until someone at Conference announces women receiving the Priesthood, some people are never going to be pleased with the talks on women – no matter how good they are in other respects. And that’s just the way it is.

Jenne, honestly until someone at Conference announces women receiving the Priesthood, some people are never going to be pleased with the talks on women – no matter how good they are in other respects. And that’s just the way it is.

I’ll be happy when we get a woman giving a talk about how special the men in the church are. But yes, until then. . . .

The United Order, the Law of Consecration, and the Church Welfare Program are different names for different incarnations of the same thing… that’s a really blunt way of putting it. I kinda like it, even if it’s not ENTIRELY historically accurate.

I think that, given the enormous set of conservative traditionalism surrounding anything said in a general conference, Elder Cooke’s talk was actually very good. It must be really hard for an apostle to say anything too far outside the norm in a conference, at least without slowly building up to it over a series of talks from conference to conference.

201/B. Russ, You’re right (I knew that). You found that comment fast!
Just haven’t seen BCC’s true feminist spirit surface in such magnitude for a while.
But I like Pres. Eyring’s talk. Its not all about complete service without seeing any fruit of our labours…

The Choir’s tone on this song is different and a little refreshing. It’s not as bold as it has been in the past for this particular song, it’s nice to hear a little more muffled tone. And Richard Eliot rocks. He’s the best of the organists.

OK, it’s official: based on threads here from AM session iit seems Elder Cook’s talk is going to be fodder for controversy about how insensitive LDS hierarchy is to women. I say just let it go…it seems to me he calculated his talk so carefully to make sure it was positive and non-offensive that anyone who finds fault with it must be out hunting for a mote….

Talks about pain, hospitalization, angels: I’m overly familiar with all three of those topics this year. Anti-medication message? I take pain meds regularly because of my metastatic cancer, but I totally get not wanting to take them, and often have avoided so even when it seemed like a good idea. Side effects are real. And my angels have been the people who reached out to me, including some of the nurses when I was in the hospital. But letting pain bring me closer to God is proving to be quite a challenge.

Alex (209), you have a good point here. My take is that often men feel they have permission or license, from the institutional structure, to demean women and their potential contributions. So when it becomes necessary to offer assurances to men, over the pulpit, about how special they are, we can take that as a sign of substantial progress.

I think Elder Eyring’s mention of a HP Group Leader focusing on the need to help someone who needs to work to support his OR her family is going to be one of the most overlooked but important comments of this session.

Good comment Ken. As an out-patient physician, treating patients with non-cancer pain has resulted in me having less faith in fellowmen. So many view their non cancer pain (or, sometimes, imagined distress) as a key to unlock the door to plentiful narcotics, medical marijuana, or early exit from the work force. Makes me wish I had chosen a field of medicine where treatment of chronic non-cancer pain was not among the major duties of the post.

Did I miss something? Elder Cook said that since our earliest history, women have spoken and prayed in sacrament meeting. When I first heard it, I thought he was flat out wrong about that…am I missing something?

I believe President Eyring was saying that the gospel principles behind all three are the same. I can agree with that statement. It goes along well with the concept that the application of principles can widely vary from time to time.

For anyone who may still peruse this thread, the new church Handbook 2: Administering the church, it explicitly states that men AND women may give both opening and closing prayers in sacrament meeting.

John: All the folks I know in Tokyo are safe, though the quake really made a mess of things. One family’s apartment building has a big crack in the side but the engineers insist everything is structurally sound.

Of course, everyone there knows someone from the Sendai area who they are worried about. My good friend has an aunt from one of the villages hit hardest by the tsunami. She’s fine but everything she owned, including her home, was swept out to sea. She wasn’t able to get word out tho them for the first week.

Wikipedia has an unsourced claim that weekly administration of the sacrament in the church started sometime in the 1850s.

Surely every congregation in the church has had some sort of Sunday meeting since 1830. I am curious what they referred to those meetings as on those occasions when the sacrament was not going to be administered.

Mark (#249) I need to do some work, but I understand that from the mid to late nineteenth century there was weekly sacrament meetings, but they were either general or stake meetings, with general or stake officers speaking.

225- Ken,
I sincerely believe that Elder Cook tried his best to praise women. But his talk revealed some fundamental attitudes about what women should do and what women should be like that I just can’t support.